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I am only 28 and have had Fibro for several years, pretty much since I hit puberty at age 11, but have only been officially diagnosed since January of this year (finally, thanks to finally finding a doctor who listened and cared about what I was talking about instead of just focusing on me being "too young" or "looking fine" to have the issues I was talking about).

I am one of the unfortunate few who cannot rely on medications to manage my illness due to severe intolerances and allergies. I am on a 30mg dose of Cymbalta a day (for anxiety) and take the lowest dose of Voltaren (an anti-inflammatory med) for some damage between the discs in my lower back, a Vitamin D supplement, and that is it. I work over 40 hours a week, take care of home responsibilities, and am currently working on a 3-part certification program in various areas of healthcare. I also try to walk when I've the time and participate in yoga.

All of that being said, please do not mistake my Fibro as being any less severe or debilitating than anyone else's on here. Among other things, there are days when it's all I can do to get out of bed or walk across a room as the bones in my feet will literally feel like they're crushing in on each other. I drop about a third of everything I touch, and normal tasks such as cutting meat with a knife is literally a pain. Not to mention I'm already exhausted after getting ready for work in the mornings, but bills have to be paid, and a life lived inside on the couch covered in heating pads and fluffy pillows is not a life (although on an off evening I will sometimes allow it). Pain medications of any form and strength, muscle relaxers, and any other type of anti-inflammatory aside from the one I use for my back do not touch my pain, so I envy anyone that can feel even a shred of relief with any of those.

I realize that diet and vitamins and supplements are considered a big thing in alternative treatments, however, here is where it gets even stickier for me. Not being able to tolerate certain medications aside, I have several food and environmental allergies. It would shock you for me to list them, so anything having to do with Fibro and diet I pretty much have to ignore as then it seems like I would be living on water alone. Vitamins and supplements are even worse because of all of the additional ingredients and cross-contamination with various things.

My question to anyone who's read this far is what forms of alternative treatment are you using that work for you? Any specific exercises, therapies, counselings, activities, groups, methods, even hobbies, etc that you do on a regular basis and that you see some (even if it's only a little) relief from? Anything specifically to help your hands, or to keep you distracted, or even things you do to make some everyday tasks and chores easier? This is me picking your brain- would love to know what you've personally found that helps you.

I would not wish Effexor XR on my worst enemy. I was on it a few years ago and the withdrawal effects alone from it if you don't take it at exactly the same time each day are murder. It would send what felt like electrical pulses through my body whenever I would try to move and make my feet feel like they were going to give out from underneath me. It also severely affected my mood and behavior for the worst, causing both compulsive and impulsive behaviors and irrational thinking. Side effects are of course different in each person, but I would do some serious personal research on other medications before going with Effexor. There is a wealth of information available on the medications approved for Fibromyalgia treatment, the trick is to weigh the potential benefits against the highly possible negative side effects that any "mood altering" medications can cause.View Thread

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